Effect of Obesity on the Recovery Profile after General Anesthesia in Children: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Obesity has become a serious problem not only in adult patients but also in pediatric patients. To evaluate whether obesity affects the recovery profile after general anesthesia in children. 40 children (aged 2–12 years) who underwent surgery under general anesthesia and had an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical I and II. This prospective cohort study was conducted over a period of 3 months (January–April, 2021). The patients were divided into two groups according to body mass index (BMI): Group I comprised obese children (BMI ≥95th for age percentile) (n=20) and Group II comprised children with a normal BMI (25–75th for-age percentile) (n=20). Anesthesia induction and maintenance were performed as per standard guidelines in both the groups. The recovery profile was evaluated with the following parameters: time to spontaneous ventilation, laryngeal mask airway removal time, time to open eyes, and post-anesthesia care unit discharge time. When the recovery profiles were compared, no significant differences were found between the groups. Time to spontaneous ventilation [mean difference (95